1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a wire saw, and more particularly to a wire saw which slices brittle material such as silicon, glass and ceramics into a number of wafers.
2. Description of Related Art
A wire saw, which slices a silicon ingot into a number of wafers, winds a wire on a plurality of grooved rollers to form wire rows between the grooved rollers, and presses the ingot against the running wire rows, thus slicing the ingot into a number of wafers in one slicing action.
In the wire saw, a processing chamber, in which the grooved rollers are arranged, is covered to prevent slurry and cutting chips from scattering to the outside of the wire saw. On completion of the slicing, the cover is opened and the sliced ingot is detached from a workpiece feed table. Then, a new ingot is attached to the workpiece feed table. An operator attaches and detaches the ingots manually.
The conventional wire saw, however, has a disadvantage in that the slurry and cutting chips scatter to the outside of the wire saw through a gap between the body of the wire saw and the cover, making the outside of the wire saw dirty. Moreover, when the cover is opened after slicing, the misty slurry in the processing chamber further scatters to the outside.